Chandler is currently on the U.S. Men’s National Team’s World Cup squad headed for Brazil, and aiming to earn a starting spot. He most recently went the distance at left back in the U.S.’s 2-1 win vs. Turkey at Red Bull Arena this past Sunday.

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What do you think of Chandler signing with Eintracht Frankfurt? Like the move? Would you have preferred that he wait until after the World Cup to make a decision on his future?

And yes, for the record, Klinsmann’s uber-positivity is pure BS, just naive from a PR front. But that’s obvious. Arguing over “Jurgen said this” is like debating politics based on gossip in the National Inquirer.

As I recall Frankfurt was where Ricardo Clark played for a couple of seasons. Don’t know if that is significant, but they thought Clark was worth signing and he didn’t do the US team any favors in the World Cup. Let’s hope history does not repeat itself in that way.

Agree with this. His physical attributes, crossing & shooting ability make him a better option at LB than anyone for this WC. A mental lapse like that can be killer but can be fixed (hopefully). The rest of his game was very positive.

actually if you look at the replay, you could argue that Chandler failed on at least two of these three. It wasn’t just a mental mistake. He tried to control the ball when he should have cleared it, and wound up getting shoved off the ball. He then tapped it directly into the path of the attacker. Finally, he didn’t have anywhere near the recovery speed to catch the guy. So let’s not pretend it was just an “oops.”

??? This was a serious comment? clearly Hoga was talking about the how Chandler played in the game, not the one play. Anyone who made a mental lapse like that would not have been able to recover. The guy was past him before he realized what was happening.
Chandler did show himself to be strong and fast all game. The physical capabilities are there. His left foot isn’t as good as Fabians, but he is able to cross with it.
Chandler had a really bad moment at the end of an otherwise above average performance. That is easier to fix that Beasley’s lack of strength or Yedlins lack of man to man defense.

I think those who are tired of hearing about the Donovan decision are missing the main point. It’s not just about Donovan not being selected, it’s about Klinsmann’s judgment and his rationale for selections. Almost no one familiar with US soccer would disagree that Donovan is still one of the best US players, certainly better than Davis or Green and arguably better than Wondolowski. Those people who say Donovan is now too slow or not fit just haven’t been watching him play in MLS these last two months because those charges are demonstrably untrue to anyone who has watched him regularly over that time.So, this issue is why Klinsmann made the decision as he did. The strong implication is that Klinsmann bypassed Donovan for personal reasons which, as a manager, is horrible practice. As someone who was a manager in a large organization for over a decade, one of the most important rules I tried to follow is to not let my personal feelings toward individual employees get in the way of what was best for the organization. If that is what happened in this case, Klinsmann should not be the US coach as he doesn’t have the best interests of US soccer at heart, but puts his personal desires ahead of what is best for the organization. Also, any good manager should be able to work with and get performance even from those people he or she does not like. Otherwise, they have no business being a manager. So, the issue isn’t just Donovan not being selected, but Klinsmann’s fitness to coach the US team, especially long term

Slow and Gary are right on this. If the current point is 100% valid. Like, “mom why can’t I play with fire?” The response “because you will burn yourself” may get old, but it is still a valid and correct response.

Okay here are some new arguments
1. when players like Michael Bradley aren’t playing for their club, he won’t call them up, but when Jermaine Jones isn’t playing because he was suspended for intentionally stomping on a player’s toe WHEN IT WAS BROKEN, he not only gets called up, he’s given the captain’s armband.

3. He won’t play Cameron at CB during WC qualifying because he can’t win that starting spot with Stoke. Yet Cameron is starting at RB for Stoke but Klinsmann won’t play him there either, opting to play Brad Evans there even though Brad doesn’t play RB for Seattle. To take if further, Klinsmann has now apparently decided CB is where Cameron needs to play for the US even though he still doesn’t play there for Stoke. He decides this right before the WC when he could have been playing him there all along so we could get a settled back line.

4. Klinsmann has had multiple player call-up problems/issues which show he does not communicate and work well with the players’ club.

5. The way he handled USA longtime captain Carlos Bocanegra by not letting him know ahead of time he would not start in Honduras and then asking him to give the team a pep talk before the game. He then never calls him up again. That is no way to treat your captain.

6. In the WC qualifying loss to Jamaica, he gave the excuse that the middle of the field was bumpy so passing was difficult. However, the USA only sent ONE cross into the box all night. A good coach will factor field conditions into his game plan. It’s called coaching 101

7. Klinsmann made control over the entire USA program a condition for accepting the USA job because he needed control over player development if he was going to get the USA to the next level. However, three years later and seven years after the development academy was created, he is using as many if not more YOUNG players that learned their skills overseas.

8. One game away from the World Cup and the US still doesn’t have a settled back four. That means Klinsmann has not properly prepared the team for getting the best possible result at the World Cup.

9. He suddenly dumps his long time assistant Martin Vasquez with no explanation right before the World Cup. Why?

10. The 30 man camp was a farce so he could drop Donovan under the guise that he wasn’t as good as the other forwards. This is demonstrated by the fact that he was playing Brad Davis at center back during the camp and his sons tweet. Why did his son bother to say, ” I didn’t even know until my phone told me” Who says that? He said it to try to cover up for the fact that he did know. Also, Klinsmann had told Twellman months ago that Landon’s bridges had been burned. Then why keep acting like he had a chance to make the WC roster? This is taking lying to new heights.

11. Players complaining that Klinsmann overtrains and under coaches them.

12. He doesn’t support his players. Remember the “Dempsey has done s***t” comment he made to the newspapers.

13. He publicly stated the USA players need to be more nasty and gave an example of how Barcelona’s entire team will surround an official over a call

Try some reading comprehension exercises… or prove how you are going 110% on emotion, pure emotion.

Clue: They were discussing why LD was left off, not why you think JK sucks. Though I suppose those could be related points.

But, since you seem to think numerical lists are convincing in place of reasonable arguments:

1 – 3: You fail to make a single valid positional comparisson.

Then you make the mistake of taking a public BSer at his word. ALL coaches are full of it. Welcome to sports. And as your name suggests, you just have it out for Klinsmann. Fine. Knock yourself out…

4. I would say, “prove it”, but you can’t without taking a few isolated incidents out of context.

Your point at #7 also undercuts any semi-valid argument here, because you can’t complain about so many new, young call-ups AND THEN complain that players and clubs don’t respond to them. Lol.

5 – 6. Same as 1-3.

7. Similar to 1-3, but you make the additional error of failing to realize how upping the bar with players trained abroad SETS THE BAR, provides an example of what we should be shooting for. Also, young players like Yedlin can take lessons from these young euro guys back to camp.

And 16 of our 23 man squad developed in the US, so again, you’re inference is just plain wrong.

8. We aren’t as talented as other teams, and we’re up against a tough attacking group… so, yeah, defense is going to be a problem. But that’s also true for any team in this group.

Then there are injuries. And there are warm-up friendlies. Not sure why people blame this on Jurgen. Any manager would have a problem here.

Unless, maybe, it’s because his #2, Martin Vazquez, didn’t do enough?

9. Maybe because of #8? But also because, if you’ve been paying attention, Vasquez was never great, always questionable as Jurgen’s #2, even going back to the Bayern days.

10. The tin-foil hat really boils over here. And again, you’re just wrong. Brad EVANS played at CB in camp. Davis was always a LM there for crosses.

Twellman said so? Well now, stop the presses (unless it’s a scoop on new MLS players, then yes, stop the presses). The bridge was not burned. Landon was called in precisely because he is still a good player. He was not taken, however, because he’s not as fit as OTHER PLAYERS and loses in multiple positional battles. When you are coach, feel free to take him.

For me, IMHO, Landon is #24 on the roster, and we’ve beat that horse to death several times.

WARNING: There is apparently a Dead Horse Zombie Apocolypse in progress… stay insde.

11 – 13. You can *maybe* call this a philosophical difference, but I think it’s just that you are mentally younger than Jonathan Klinsmann.

I was originally dissappointed that Donovan was cut, but now I am seeing the bigger picture. No way Klinsmann was going to get Donovan to play the ball as quickly as possible. It’s not his personality. I am really liking what I am seeing now after the Turkey game and if he can pull things together over the tournament the US have a chance to shock the world. They are actually, arguably good enough to get to the quarters if Klinsmann can get the team to buy into his philosophy. I was really impressed with Davis’s play in particular.

I appreciate your comment. I’m still not over the Donovan decision myself. And I’m pretty sure there’s two reasons: 1) Like you said, he’s one of the top players available. Still, currently, etc. 2) The decision, along with other roster choices and decisions Klinsmann has made all along, has just chipped away at any trust I had in him as a manager.

I believed that he was a little quirky but got things done. Now I just think he’s a nut.

I agree, and you make your point well, but the idea that nobody gets this is ridiculous. You don’t seem to be reading anyone’s comments but your own. Almost everyone that dislikes the decision agrees with you. You can stop posting it now.

This is a fair argument. I’m still having a hard time looking at the US bench and finding players better than LD, let alone in the starting 11.

To me, JK is arrogant to the point of being a Narcissist. He is, IMO, the type to make a big personal decision in place of what’s best for the group because “it’s his decision to make”, and also because this WC is all about him. Nobody else matters.

On the other hand, our boys are going forward with verve. If we can patch up some holes at the back, we might be able to surprise some people, even without LD.

I don’t know if our guys are truly moving forward properly. JK has given them more distractions to worry about than he should have.

Bradley doesn’t look right on the field, and every interview I’ve seen with him he seems off. Whether his form and mental status are related to the way camp has unfolded I can’t say for sure. I can say did seem upset that Landon wasn’t there with the team.

You’re breaking your rules about personal feelings. If you only see “personal feelings” as a reson to include or exclude Donovan, than it is you who are missing the plot. You *can* make a case for including LD. You guys just aren’t doing it.

That is too obvious to state. How long do we need to look at Wondo, Davis, and Green before we say… Yes Donovan is better than all 3. That is clear to the casual observer, which is why everyone focuses on JK’s intent, personality disorders and arrogance.

I disagree that Donovan is better than Davis. Davis plays decisively and with energy, Donovan is settling into his old man pants and its messing up the team energy levels. Klinsmann wants people to buy into his philosophy of moving the ball with urgency and Donovan just isn’t an urgent player. Donovan is a good player with lots of creativity but his first touch on the ball is poor and he is not good at possessing the ball in traffic. I perfectly understand the decision to pick Davis over Donovan. As for Green if you have a chance to capture a future star by promising to sit him on the bench for the World Cup you take it. Now we will have a player who has incredibly ingenuity that will start in 2018. Germany lost a good player.

You hope you have a good player for 2018. You don’t know that. We’ve seen a dozen great prospects fail to become anything. When it comes to a World Cup, I believe you should always make decision based on what is good for right now.

Jurgen Klinsmann has now coached the USMNT for 49 games. Our record over that span is 30-11-8 (61%).

Bob Bradley was 43-25-12 (53%).

Bruce Arena was 75-28-27 (57%).

Say what you want, his record is demonstrably better than either of his predecessors. That record also includes wins in Mexico (the USA’s first), in Italy against Italy, and against Germany.

We crushed everybody this past summer in the Gold Cup, which puts us half of the way towards clinching a Confederations Cup berth. The USA also walked away with the Hex in qualifying.

Along the way, he pretty much completely turned over the USA roster. We now have just four field players – Altidore, Bradley, Dempsey, and Beasley – who have ever played in a World Cup before. Again: say what you want, but the team under Bob Bradley – who I think was actually a pretty durn good coach – had gotten stale, stodgy, and when Klinsmann took the team in 2011 people were eyeballing our future prospects (or actually, lack thereof) and openly wondering about where the next generation was going to come from…and worrying that the likes of Donovan and Dempsey were going to be 32 and 31 in the next World Cup.

Now there’s youth – and depth- all over the place…except for the old guard who Klinsmann clearly intends to feature (he’s obviously built this group around Altidore, Bradley, and Dempsey) and the rest of the team was brought in largely to support and complement those guys. This World Cup team in particular was clearly built with the idea of allowing Dempsey to roam around as a false nine – which is what he does best – and to allow Michael Bradley to surge forward, again, which is where he’s been the most dangerous. He also brought in a boatload of speed to counter the fact that we’re probably in the fastest group in the World Cup, and a ton of young fit guys who can endure the conditions we’re going to see in Brazil.

He knew what he was doing, IMHO. This team gives us, by far, the best chance of escaping this unholy group we got thrown into.

I’m in the group that thinks if Donovan couldn’t start, simply because of the huge shadow he casts, he maybe doesn’t need to be there at all. Psychologically, you can’t have the starters looking to the bench for answers if they don’t get it done. You can’t have everybody waiting for the moment when Donovan comes off the bench and saves the day – they have to KNOW, if I don’t step up and take it on myself, it doesn’t get done. That’s how new guys rise up. That’s how the torch gets passed…in this case, from Donovan, to Bradley and especially Dempsey. In particular, especially because Clint’s wearing the armband now, and Donovan and Dempsey are both withdrawn forwards – and out of Donovan’s own mouth, he doesn’t have the legs to play winger anymore – it sort of came down to a choice between Dempsey and Donovan, and Jurgen chose Dempsey.

Put in a nutshell: Julian Green, Brad Davis, Bedoya, Zusi, Mix…those guys didn’t replace Donovan. Dempsey did. You can only have one Alpha…and Jurgen decided it was Clint’s turn.

For better or for worse, it’s Clint Dempsey’s team now. That’s what Jurgen Klinsmann couldn’t say, for a lot of reasons – not the least of which is, I don’t think he wants to put that kind of pressure on Dempsey. Like all good managers, he took that pressure on himself.

Good call? Bad call? I dunno. But instead of Dempsey, in particular, having a gun to his head – and Landon waiting impatiently on the bench with every camera recording every wince and every facial expression of America’s Hero – the team is now focused on executing…with what they have, and the certain knowledge that it’s on them, and the cavalry ain’t coming.

I don’t think it was personal at all. I think it was a case of: you have to pick your star, your leader, and your Alpha…and Klinsmann decided it wasn’t Donovan anymore. And precisely because Donovan is a “talisman” player…I also don’t think it’s really possible for him to just turn the torch over. Which meant, for this World Cup…he had to go.

Teams that ignore chemistry and just pick the perceived “best” 23 have a way of imploding. See: France, 2010, and also Italy, 2010, for two examples. See also Netherlands in Euro 2012, England in most every World Cup since 1966, Mexico the last round of qualification, where Graham Zusi ended up being their MVP. The list goes on and on.

JK brought us the winningest year in our history, and in two years brought depth like we’ve never had to the squad. I think he’s done at least enough to get support through the WC before the Donovan fans bury him.

Its really a smack in the face to the guys who really will decide our fate, like bradley, Dempsey, and Howard that Landon is harped on so much.

how can you tell? and more relevantly, how do you know it was klinsmann’s doing?

and i was going to agree with your last point, but then i thought: not giving bradley, dempsey, and howard the benefit of having donovan available for this cup (probably the last for dempsey and howard) is the *real* smack in the face.

“oh, cool. we won friendlies and an off-year gold cup. that’s awesome!”

Yes. I think that’s his point. On top of the simple fact that this is better than anyone had ever done before… Soooo… what’s the problem with that one? Oh, we also had the easiest time qualifying since 1994…

“how can you tell? and more relevantly, how do you know it was klinsmann’s doing?”

Bob brought in a few guys (JJ and TC), and Jurgen had nothing to do with MLS. On point there. But Jurgen may have set some important precedent and sent a nice signal to dual nationals with other roster decisions in ways no other past manager could have dreamed. Verdict is out on this one, for now.

“the benefit of having donovan available for this cup (probably the last for dempsey and howard) is the *real* smack in the face.”

Uh… I think they’re confident enough without Landon. All of their recent comments would suggest as much. Like Howard said, they’re professionals; they’re accustomed to seeing important players come and go. And only one player in recent US history thinks the team is all about Landon Donovan.

the problem with his “winningest year” point is that it doesn’t matter. international play is all about tournaments. the friendlies we won that year don’t count for sh!t, and yes, it’s good that we won the b-team gold cup, but more accurately, it would be unacceptable *not* to win it, considering everybody else + mexico sent their scrubs.

The USA curb-stomped all comers anyway, in a manner I’ve never quite seen before. And yup…Donovan was our best player…that tournament. He was also back to being our “talisman” player.

It appears Jurgen has decided there’s quite a difference between a B-team Gold Cup and the top teams from Germany, Portugal, and Ghana in the World Cup.

I wouldn’t argue.

What people don’t seem to get is: if Landon Donovan can’t be a talisman-type player against TOP competition anymore – can you have him there as a role player? I don’t think so. The media won’t have it, the team will still look to him too much, depend on him too much…and, no matter how hard he tries, the spotlight is still going to be on Landon.

And Landon’s recent statements and behavior have not exactly filled anyone who was listening with confidence that he was ready to go see if Christiano Ronaldo wants some.

I believe Klinsmann himself has stated that a national team coach should be judged solely by !. reaching the World Cup; and 2. how well his team does in the World Cup. I can’t take the time to answer all the criticisms, bu5t I will say that I am aware of them all, and I just don’t know how anyone can know anything about the state of US soccer and conclude that the US is better off without Donovan on the roster than they are with him. If you say, well look at his current form at the time of the camp, well, why doesn’t that apply to Altidore? Too old? Only a couple of months older than Davis and Wondolowski and maybe 9 months older than Dempsey? Lost a step? Faster than most of the p;layers on the squad, I would bet my mortgage on that and I would like to see some time trials as Donovan has shown with the Galaxy that he is still faster than average. Out of shape? Anyone who has watched the Galaxy the last 2 months knows that is totally bogus. In Colorado, at altitude, about 2-3 weeks ago, he outran most of their players in tyhe last 10 minutes. Can’t score any more? Attackers go through droughts, it’s obvious that his is now over you could make the same charge about Altidore and Johannsson. The decision could not been because of Donovan’s present ability to contribute, so what was the reason? He has played on 3 previous WC squads, so it can’t be team chemistry and I have never read a single report of him being disruptive. Can anyone provide counter evidence? Heck, he even has a good relationship with his ex-wife. If you have followed soccer and US soccer as long as I have, you have bad memories of l1998 and this sounds too similar, and not just with Donovan, but the whole thing of bringing in a lot of new players who didn’t do squat for the US to qualify. Finally, in watching World Cups as much as possible for the last 40 years, I have come to the conclusion that WC experience is an important aspect for a team’s success. I have seen a # of teams come in highly ranked, only to flame out because they had few players with WC experience. The only sporting event to rival it in pressure is the Olympics. You can’t train for that, you have to experience it, IMO. If you need a goal in the last 10 minutes in a crucial WC game, who would you rather have out there–Donovan or Wondolowski? If the answer isn’t obvious, your knowledge of soccer is so minimal that you have no business ommenting on the issue. Finally, I have supported Klinsmann many times in the past when he was being criticized during qualifying as I thought he was following a definite plan. It now appears he is not following a plan so much as winging it on the basis of rash personnel decisions. Oh, and I am not a gung ho Donovan supporter, having criticized him, among other things, for not going to Europe when he coulda/shoulda, but I recognize how valuable he is to US success even now. I base my conclusions on analysis supported by evidence and experience and it is only recently I have reversed my opinion of Klinsmann, based on new information–i.e. no logical evaluation of US players would not include Donovan in the final 23. Ergo, Klinsmann’s evaluation was not logical.

That is all true, but objectively, the US are now playing attractive high quality soccer. Instead of being the hunted they are hunting and I think regardless of the outcome of this WC I would want to see Klinnsman stick around and implement his philosophy for one more cup.

“not giving bradley, dempsey, and howard the benefit of having donovan available for this cup (probably the last for dempsey and howard) is the *real* smack in the face.”

Or they could look at it as “Guys I believe in you so much that I know you don’t need Landon’s help”.
They and the 20 could take it as a vote of confidence in them. That’s how most sane people would see it.

All this talk about ego and narcissism ignores the fact that Mikey, Clint , Timmy and last but certainly not least , Landon all have enormous egos to match JK’s.

Do any of you honestly think they take a back seat to anyone in that regard?

Both Mikey and Clint with their moves back to MLS showed their cojones by defying JK and clearly smacking him in the face. They did not consult him on the moves and made a point of saying that.

So those of you who talk about JK taking things personal I say sure he does…. until he needs you.

What makes you think that Mikey, Clint and Timmy, in their heart of hearts, don’t agree with JK?
I can assure you that if I were a USMNT player and you picked me over Lando to play in the World Cup that, assuming I was of the makeup that I happen to believe our USMNT players are, I would do my best to prove all you naysayers that you are wrong about the USMNT’s reduced chances.
You and me, we have no idea how these players are really taking it. All those supportive statements about LD from Mikey and Timmy?
They know how to play the media and the fans better than any of you and they are no more credible than anything JK said. For all we know, they might already have had a clear idea that LD was about to get the axe when they spoke.
Mikey in particular can’t possibly have any illusions about what kind of people the US fans are.
US fans ran his dad out of town because he played a boring empty bucket with two defensive midfielders (now isn’t it funny that that seems to be exactly what this defense needs?), and because he was boring in his speech, played his son unfairly, had favorite players and because he wore track suits instead of the nifty sportswear JK now wears.
So yeah, Mikey has no illusions. He’ll be thrown to the wolves in a New York minute when after his first bad pass.
You choose to believe them because you want to, not because they are any more credible or you have any real evidence. There is coach speak and there is player speak.
My guess? They have a professional relationship with LD. Talk all you want about his current hot form against depleted MLS teams where has LD been this whole time?
And for those of you who like to think you can read minds, everyone forgets that Mikey got himself deported from Germany because of his “ philosophical differences” with his manager and wound up spending nearly a seasons’ worth of time rotting on the sidelines because of all that.
Now maybe that makes him more sympathetic to LD.
Or maybe it matured him (he is a father and husband now) and maybe it made him wonder what was wrong with LD who clearly kept trying to win this no win game of chicken with JK.
LD was clearly negotiating in the media the exact terms for his participation with the USMNT. “Well I can only train for so long and I can only do this or that”, “I’m not the guy I was but I can still contribute”.
That is fiery leadership from the best US player ever? Taking your candidacy for inclusion on the team to the public? What is the old saying about beware about constantly agreeing with the fans or eventually you will wind up sitting with them?
If there is one thing he could learn from Mikey it is how to say speak and say nothing.
I wonder if Clint and Mikey, in private, were not just throwing their hands up so to speak. Those guys know what the real world of football managers is all about and did everything they could to insure they got on this team, short of giving up financial security for life.
But Landon has been a golden child since day one and never had a manager who could stand up to him. Arena? Don’t make me laugh. He couldn’t get LD to put out in 2006. Landon goes on overdrive when Landon wants to. And JK has lived in Landycakes land for almost 15 years so please don’t tell me he does not know the soccer side of LD inside and out.
JK clearly stated what he wanted from his players from day one. Landon misread him and overestimated his value to the USMNT from day one.
Of course there was a political element to Landon’s exclusion. There always is and he has no one to blame but his own entitled, silver spoon upbringing in the game for losing what was a winnable political battle.

Let’s say the USMNT World Cup vets on the team agree that this was wrong and that they want Donovan back on the team. With the 23 now named the only way this can happen is if someone comes up injured enough so they can’t play. And that injury has to be verified by, I believe, an independent doctor. So no faking.

Which means they have to deliberately injure a team mate either in practice or off the field, say push him down a flight of stairs. Or get him inoculated with some kind of disease that will last until the Ghana game.

Or they could hold a press conference and vent to the media.

Which would accomplish what exactly?

Or they could accept it , hate JK and work extra hard to prove the media wrong about them being weaker, all the while hating JK for making them work extra hard to make up for losing LD .

Or the most likely outcome: they accept it like the professionals they are, hiding their frustration that the guy they’re feeding the ball to as they desperately search for a life-preserving goal in their once-every-four-years-career-highlight is an 18 year-old kid who trips on his own feet.

“We coulda been a contender,” they’ll say to themselves for the next four years/rest of their lives.

Chandler plays at Right Back in the Bundesliga you can tell on the pitch that he’s uncomfortable playing on left. Still don’t understand why Jurgen changed Johnson to the right and Chandler to the left?

I believe that is called sarcasm right?! … if not Im glad to hear he has fans… Chandler was owned by the Turkish side, so much that at half time Berti Vogts must of told his side to only attack on the Right side… hoping Klinsmann is not serious about that LB move… congrats to Chandler on his new club…

What are you talking about? Vogts doesn’t coach Turkey and Chandler didn’t play bad until the end of the game. He always helped Besler out a lot in the first half. Even Ives said he played well for 75 minutes. I don’t get where you are getting any of this from.

Best part of the Klinsmann “is this that and the third” bashing is that the ONLY person to have actually WON a World Cup is KLINSMANN. But wait, of course he would risk his legacy bc of personal feelings toward one American player. Yeah that’s the ticket.

you can always spot the weakest arguments based on how the fact that JK was one of 11 starting players to have won the 1990 World Cup should in soem way inform us about his day to day decision-makin today. Would this “won a world cup” precedent work for all past “world cup winners”? In that case, I’ll take Maradona as manager because he won a World Cup and was a better player than Klinsmann-oh, wait….

Right. Or Michael Jordan/Larry Bird as Managers, Mike Singletary as a Head Coach (ok as a positional guy), and Wayne Gretzky in hockey. Sure, 2006 in Germany, but the word is out on Low’s role in that one.

I’m actually struggling to think of a single great player who was ever any good as a coach… nope, still blank.

Maradona is a joke as a manager and as a man, as time as shown. Way to make nonsensical connection to Klinsman, tough. Let me help you, Beckenbauer won the World Cup and Euro Cup in 74 and 72, but he was a joke as a manager as well. Oh wait… he wasn’t. He won the World Cup as a manager in 1990 during which Klinsman was a star.

I will rely on the fact that Klinsman rebuilt a youth Germany team and took them to semis in 2006,and he left even though the German FA wanted him to stay. Klinsman also thought enough to bring Berti Vogts (as an adviser) who was his coach from 90-98 and helped German win 1 Euro Cup, finish 2nd in another and 2 World Cup quarter finals. I am happy with his judgment. People need to move on.

TC put in 90+ minutes vs turkey… JK pushed him to the limit knowing Timmy’s playing form aint 100% but is slowly creeping up, every game, scrimmage, training session, every day and night counts for Chandler before he lines up against ghanna … just saying…